Sunday, September 29, 2013

When it comes to exercising, nothing is better than having your workout all written up and ready to go. You know exactly what the plan is and that can be very motivating. It's like showing up to the grocery store with a list to buy stuff for Hawaiian haystacks one night and chicken enchiladas for another. Lots of ingredients go into those meals and it doesn't turn out perfect if you forget anything; rice, cheese, sour cream, chow mien noodles, green onions, olives, tortillas, etc. When I make a grocery list I stick to the list and I don't waste time thinking of what I need or making 7 trips back to the same aisle because I remembered something else. Having a list makes my grocery trip fast and efficient. That is how your gym workouts should be. Can you imagine going to your favorite gym class with an instructor that isn't prepared? You rely on your instructor/trainer to give you a good workout right? Do you think your instructor just wings it? Maybe the well experienced ones can wing some of the workout, but it would be hard to wing it for an hour without any hesitations and keep you in the zone. They go in with a written out game plan to give you an awesome workout.

I find that when I prepare the night before and have my workout saved to the notes on my phone, I waste less time in the gym, I am more focused, more motivated, and usually the workouts leave me feeling accomplished! I like walking into the gym knowing exactly what's on the agenda. I love having a list and being the list. I hate going in with no plan......."ok, today I am going to train triceps, back, and shoulders....Which one should I do first? What would be a good exercise to group with tricep kickbacks? How many exercises should I do for each muscle?" I can tell you when this happens, I end up just going through the motions and my workouts are not that great.

I was thinking it would be cool to start writing weekly workout plans for you! How nice would it be to have Monday thru Friday all written up and ready to go? You may even find that you have a little more motivation to go to the gym too. I know from experience how convenient it is to be prepared ahead of time. I personally would LOVE for someone to email me a legit workout for every day of the week that covers all the major muscle groups.........AWESOME!!

So what I have done is typed up a 5-day workout plan that you can purchase for $5. That is one dollar per workout. You will get two days of lower body to cover quads, inner and outer thighs, hamstrings, and the booty. One day for back and abs. One day for Chest/Shoulders/Triceps. And one day for Biceps and more abs. Each workout has reps and sets listed. And either HIIT cardio or Steady State cardio is suggested following each workout and the duration for each. If you are uncertain of an exercise, google is great for providing pictures/descriptions. I also suggest www.bodybuilding.com for another source to explain and show you certain exercises.

Also, I am no nutritionist but I know a little about healthy eating and proper foods to fuel your body with. I have written up a one day meal plan that consists of 6 meals (one includes a post workout shake) and the calorie, protein, carb, and fat breakdown of each meal. I am not a picky eater and eating the same thing every day for one week does not bother me. This lets me buy what I need for the entire week and use what I buy. This way food usually doesn't go to waste and end up in the trash. this allows me to cook things in bulk or freeze for ready to go meals. Then at the start of a new week, you move onto a new meal plan. The meal plan I provide is simply a suggestion or to give you an idea. It is nothing fancy. If you know me at all, I am NOT a cook. When I come across a recipe that starts calling for all these fancy spices, ingredients, cooking methods etc., I lose interest real fast. Sometimes even seeing a recipe call for baking powder is just too much work for me and I move on to the next recipe. I like SIMPLE! I season most things with Mrs. Dash (salt free) and thats about as fancy as it gets. So that being said, if gourmet and fancy is your cooking style, this meal plan is not for you. I am throwing this meal plan in with the workout for $2.

So for $7.00 you can have 5 workouts and a day meal plan that covers six meals you can use for a week! The BUY NOW button is linked directly to PayPal (you do not have to have a PayPal account to purchase) and the 5-day workout and meal plan will be available for immediate download and/or emailed to you. This way you can print it off from your computer or pull it up right on your phone.buy

DON'T LET THIS BE YOU!!!

**I am also available to train you personally and you can even bring a friend! I would love to help you learn all about weight training. Rates are up top in the contact section.

Friday, September 27, 2013

I stillLOVEcardio too but I like to keep it short and sweet. Cardio is good for your health and doing a reasonable amount is great for staying lean. You need to lift to build those lean muscles and then you have to feed the muscle with food and then you burn the fat with cardio! Got it?!

CARDIO:is the most basic thing you can do when it comes to burning calories. It doesn't require weights, or knowledge of exercises. Just a pair of running shoes and your legs. It's tough to mess up on a open road, treadmill or elliptical. Go about 3 miles and burn around 300 calories give or take. Then all you do is eat less calories than you burn in a day and you will lose weight. EASY right?! Cardio is great for keeping your heart in shape but it doesn't train your heart for extreme stress when we experience rapid changes. Steady cardio only burns calories while you are moving. Not much happens afterwards.

HIIT:High Intensity Interval Training-this style of cardio blows steady cardio out of the water. Why? When you do HIIT your body and metabolism function at a higher rate of burned calories for hours and hours after you stop. Meaning I just did HIIT this morning and I am burning calories while I am sitting on my butt typing. How? during HIIT you are forcing your heart to adjust to the changes of your speed, incline, level, etc. You are making your heart work outside of its norm. All this changing and sprinting causes your metabolism to work in high gear for hours after you finish your workout. The other great bonus of HIIT is that you can lose up to 3x the amount of fat in half of the exercise time. 20-30 mins is all it takes! Great when you are short on time.

STRENGTH TRAINING: If you are wanting to do more than just lose weight and really want to get in shape, cardio and HIIT alone are not the best ways to shape your body. We all want to have that "toned" or "defined" look. Not the soft look= AKA, skinny fat. Cardio does help with weight loss but not nearly as much as you think!Combine cardio and weight training and now we are talking. The best kind of exercises to burn the most calories are moves that use the largest number of muscles; SQUATS, LUNGES, DEADLIFTS, etc. I love doing these exercises in a circuit with little to no rest between them. I get a killer workout, sore muscles, and I know I am burning calories fast and the calorie burn doesn't end when my workout is over either. I am still burning calories 2 days later from that workout!!!Cardio is for you if you have all the time in the world or if you just really love running/treadmill or elliptical. If you have spent months doing steady cardio, try varying the speeds every once in a while.HIIT is for you if you don't like lifting weights but you still want to burn calories as quickly as possible. You are limited on time every day. And you like pushing your body to its limits. If you do HIIT correctly, you should be worn right out to the point that 20-30 mins is literally all your body can handle.Strength Training is for you if you want to "tone." and let me just get this off my chest, I HATE the word "tone"!! Its called MUSCLE!! so just put on your big girl underwear and say, "I want to get some muscle!" You get a "toned" look by building muscle. I promise no one is going think you instantly turned man because you said muscle instead of tone. You can not "tone" a muscle. You either put the muscle to work and let it get bigger so it is visible or you avoid working your muscle and it will get smaller and have nothing to show. Weight training is for you if you like burning calories while sitting on your butt pinning! And if you are afraid of lifting weights, give it a shot 2-3 times a week and just see if those stubborn areas get smaller or if the weight starts coming off quicker. Do cardio on your off days to knock off a few more pounds. And guess what?!? Your weight might actually go up.....muscle is more dense than fat. Muscle takes up less space in the body. The more muscle you have on your frame, the heavier your weight will be, BUT the tighter, smaller, and less jiggly (think= bra bulge, lower belly, butt....) your physique will be compared to someone who might weigh less but also has less muscle and a higher body fat %.

With all that being said.....If you eat poorly, none of the above matters. If you are interested in getting in shape, the MOST important thing you can do for yourself is adjusting your diet. Diet is responsible for 80-90% of your successes or failures ( I am not perfect! I am preaching this to myself as well. Damn Yogurtland, Cheddar Jalapeño Cheetos, and Slurp!) Even if you spend 5-10 hours a week exercising, that still leaves over 150+ hours for you to mess things up. AHHHHHHHHH! If all you are about is losing weight, the FASTEST path to achieving that is with a freaking kick-ass diet. A diet eating real foods: veggies, fruits, complex carbs, and lean meats.

Seriously though, all the above is just the personal trainer in me speaking (I have studied a lot on this stuff) and really it honestly comes down to I just want you to be happy and healthy. It's up to you to find a great combination of cardio and weight training that keeps you motivated and keeps the weight off. There is no wrong or right way to get in shape. But I will say with complete confidence, that if you want firmer, tighter, rounder, less jiggly anything, it requires building muscle. Find what works for you and be consistent. If what you are doing isn't working, take some advice from this post and see what kind of results you get.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

I would love to help you learn to LOVE weight training and see all the great things it can do for you. Even if you have never lifted a dumbbell in your life, it's never too late to start! I can train you 1:1 or bring a friend. If you know your way around the weight room and are just looking to switch things up I can write you up a 4 week+ plan of workouts too!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

I bought my first gym pass in 2004. I am coming up on 10 years of being pretty consistent about making a trip to the gym almost daily. I use to be 70% cardio and 15% weights and 15% abs. I would say all those %'s have traded places. I am definitely 70% weights now. When I really started lifting heavy is when those stubborn fatty areas actually got smaller. Back in the day I thought running for 60 minutes was supposed to do that. I have learned so much over the last few years about our bodies and nutrition. Our bodies are so scientific and like machines, it's kind of cool.

Women need to get the misconception of lifting heavy weights will cause you to bulk up and you CAN NOT look like the lady in the left picture unless you are A) taking drugs B) using artificial hormones C) using training methods for maximum muscle mass gain and D) eating more food per meal than you eat all day!!! ( I couldn't imagine the dedication it would take to accomplish something like the lady in the left has done. I have much respect for her!) STOP worrying and load up a barbell!

Ladies, you must lift weights! No matter what your goals may be, you will get the most benefits out of lifting weights. I'm not talking 5lb dumbbells....think about it- our kids weigh more than 5 lbs and your bags of groceries and I can guarantee most of our purses exceed 5 lbs by far LOL! I LOVE weights for many reasons: 1- weight training burns more calories in an hour compared to 1 hour of steady cardio 2-weight training will keep your body burning calories up to 48 hrs after your workout and 3- muscle burns more calories while resting. So, 1-2 hrs on a treadmill followed by 1,000 crunches and low calorie diets should never be your idea of what fitness is about. Head over to the dumbbells and barbells and learn to LOVE exercise and your body!!

Many people assume that strength training and cardio need to be done exclusively to reap the benefits of each. I came across this 20 REP SQUAT and I'm out of breath just thinking about it! What is a 20 rep squat?? Load up the bar with your 10 rep max weight. Do 10 reps, but WAIT!! Once those 10 reps are done, don't put the bar back on the rack. Let it sit there on your back while you catch your breath. Now, go down and do another rep. Catch your breath again, but don't rack the weight. Do another rep. Continue doing reps without racking until you hit 20 reps! It's guaranteed to have you lying on the floor for an hour after your workout. SIGN ME UP!!

Monday, September 23, 2013

I am a certified
personal trainer through International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA-CPT)
and I created Fit Happens in 12-Weeks training program utilizing the ISSA periodized
training principles.Training with a
periodized plan helps to keep your regimen from becoming boring and
prevents injury.The program is split
into 3 phases that are all 4 weeks long.Each phase will be given instructions on what the intended goals are.I assembled this program for you to spend the
least amount of time in the gym, yet still have effective workouts.I recognize that people who actually find
time to incorporate workouts in their busy life are serious about working out and just want to
get in the gym and get out.Especially
for people like me, a mother!I want to
show you that you don’t have to live in the gym or workout for 2 hours to get a
body that is right for you!

I have found that nothing is better than having your workout planned out for you when you walk in the gym. Instead of going in with no game plan and wandering aimlessly, you waist time and the workouts seem not as productive. So I have done all the work for you and have planned out 12 whole weeks of workouts! Just print the page off or pull it up right on your phone. The workouts will have you burning the most calories and fat in the least amount of time. We will do that by including active rest and supersets to keep your heart rate elevated. And don't worry, if you don't know what active rest is or what a superset is, everything is described in the program. The workouts are structured to take you on average an hour or so to complete and this includes the cardio that is instructed at the end of your workouts.

This program does require you to have access to a gym. Unless you are equipped at home with a complete home gym. The workouts will require benches, exercise balls, weight plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, cable machines, squat racks, smith machines, etc.

What do you get in the Fit Happens in 12-week training program? You get 3 months worth of workouts with a cardio plan. Many different HIIT routines you can choose from using a treadmill, elliptical, or stair master. A complete recommended food list guide from all food groups, a basic nutritional guide to follow, 2 day sample meal plan, recommended supplements, tips for grocery store shopping, how to calculate your BMR to know how many calories you should be eating per day to gain or lose weight, other fitness tips, and ways to stay motivated. How much is the program? You can purchase Fit Happens in 12-week training program for $55.00. It will be done through paypal and you do not have to have a paypal account to purchase. The 42 page document will be emailed right to you directly after your purchase is made. This makes it available for you to print off the program from a computer or have it right to your phone.

This is a great program to keep on hand. It is perfect to have when you are ready to kick it in gear as summer is approaching or just to have when you are scrambling for a workout. Better yet, perfect if you are just getting started and learning your way around the weight room! Nothing in the program is over the top and tricky. All exercises are basic and if you are still unsure of what an exercise is you can go to www.bodybuilding.com or simply google the exercise and a video or picture will instruct you on what it is. I want this program to change your life and that your fitness journey doesn’t end when the 12 weeks is up.I hope you learn a lot about your body over the 12-week program and that it becomes your new everyday lifestyle. Give this program 100% effort and you will be amazed at the transformation your body will make. The goal is to shape your body and build beautiful lean muscles. And above all to become physically fit and healthy. It is going to take hard work, dedication, determination, discipline and most importantly PATIENCE!There is no magic pill you can take to get your body to transform. It is going to take breaking a sweat and clean eating to get you where you want to be.